


when the sun goes down

by oathofsilence



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, Thallenweek2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-04-01 22:12:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4036420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oathofsilence/pseuds/oathofsilence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What was supposed to be a meet-up between friends turns into a spontaneous coffee date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	when the sun goes down

**Author's Note:**

> look, a belated thallen week contribution! some things about it: first, this is probably the first fic i have finished and published since 2012. second, iris and eddie didn't date in this. third, this is more of a coffee date au than a coffee shop au, but what can ya do.

It was probably considered sort of rude to order before the people you were meeting up with arrived, but instead of being late like usually, Barry had been about half an hour too early and he genuinely didn't know what else to do with his time. Staring at your phone did get unsatisfying if nothing new happened.  
So there he was, a cup of coffee he more used to warm up his palms than for anything else, waiting for Eddie and Iris to arrive. Eddie and Barry barely have had time to talk in the last couple of weeks because everything they've had to work on was just so stressful, he was looking forward to seeing him. And with Iris it had been the same, life had kept the three of them so busy, it was nice to meet up and catch up properly again.  
Barry was growing slightly impatient when Iris and Eddie hadn't even been three minutes late, but since he'd been waiting for half an hour already, it seemed like an eternity. He was kind of nervous, excited, anxious, so when he finally saw Eddie hurry through the door he almost fell off his stool in a hurry to get up.  
„Barry!“, Eddie said as a greeting, with that big smile that made Barry's heart jump, hugging him like they hadn't just seen each other this morning at the station.  
„Hey, Eddie“, Barry said softly.  
They parted and sat down opposite each other as Eddie explained that Iris had just called him to say she couldn't make it today. “But I didn't want to leave you hanging, so I decided we could hang out alone, too. We can find ways to entertain each other, right?”  
Barry laughed. “Right.”  
Now that's when Barry started feeling really nervous. He'd prepared to be hanging out with two friends, not have a sort-of coffee date with the one friend he told himself he definitely does not have a crush on in the slightest. Fuck. Now he was worried it was going to be awkward to be one-on-one with Eddie, which was probably going to make it awkward. Self-fulfilling prophecies and all that.  
He started awkwardly playing with the coffee cup in his hand, until Eddie snatched it out of his grip with that disarming smile of his. “What's up with you today? Anything happen?”  
Honestly, Barry had never been so grateful for the appearance of a waitress.

It got better after that. They both decided to order the wildest sounding hot drinks on the menu, to try something new, and it was hilarious because Eddie's was so bad they maybe reacted a bit too childishly and laughed too loudly for this quite nice cafe and ended up sharing Barry's beverage. Which was a very date-like thing to do, Barry thought. But of course, this wasn't a date, technically.  
He couldn't even help but flirt with Eddie, more than he usually did, and if he wasn't over-interpreting things, Eddie was flirting back, and not even in the low key, half-joking way they normally teased each other, but with an earnestness underlying it all that made Barry feel all light-headed.  
They changed tables after a while, to switch from the rather uncomfortable bar stools to a leather corner seat. Shortly after, a waiter came over to bring them a little candle.  
Eddie laughed, pulled out his phone and leaned back a little.  
“Wait, are you taking a picture?”  
“.... maybe.” The look on his face was pure concentration.  
“What for?”  
“Commemoration?”  
Barry didn't seem convinced, but at least he was amused. “Alright then, fine. Keep your secrets.”  
Smugly, Eddie finished taking the picture and started typing, but he wouldn't say who he took that picture for. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Barry's phone buzzed and showed him a message.

 _From Iris:_ Barry, I'm so sorry I couldn't make it tonight :( What are you up to?  
_To Iris:_ Don't worry about it. Eddie and me are having a good time  
_From Iris:_ Having a good time without me? Wow ;(

Barry grinned. “Hey Eddie, come here”, he urged as he held his phone out in front of them. Eddie did as asked and scooted closer, so he was right next to Barry instead of around the corner of the seat.  
“Oh, I see, so you can take a commemorative photo of tonight, but when I do it it's weird?”, Eddie teased. The picture turned out blurry but Eddie insisted on Barry keeping it because their smiles on it were so broad, happy and sincere. They sent it to Iris, and got a heart emoji back.  
Barry put his phone away. “Also, just for the record, calling a selfie a commemorative photo is such an old people thing to do.”  
Eddie laughed, and Barry chimed in. He kind of scolded himself for being so nervous earlier. Eddie was such a joy to be around and this evening just turned out especially nice. On top of that, Eddie didn't move away again after they were done taking their picture and it was just really, really nice.

Their conversations moved on to more serious topics, like relationships, and Barry told Eddie he was bi. He probably has told him before, but Barry usually just mentioned it off-handedly to people, he didn't like making announcing his sexuality this big, scary, awkward thing that it turned out to be whenever he told people otherwise. Turns out he didn't have to remind Eddie, because he remembered. It made Barry feel warm inside. Eddie mentioned he didn't really know what labels would fit him, and he doesn't really mind for now. He'd just fall for whoever he happens to fall for. Barry tells himself not to read into it.

At around 10pm the cafe threw them out – in a friendly way, of course, because they hadn't bothered anyone, unless you can call sitting in a cafe for four hours in the evening a bother. Eddie threw an arm around Barry and a brief discussion let to the decision that they both had to show up for work early tomorrow, so getting drinks now was not an option. At least not for Eddie, since Barry couldn't get drunk anymore. What they couldn't decide on, was who was the winner in this particular situation. 

They walked to Barry's house, as it was sort of close to the coffee shop they'd been in. Eddie brought him to the door.  
“Hey, uh, so. Thanks for coming, thanks for... for the really nice evening.” Barry awkwardly shuffled around with his hands in his pockets.  
Eddie looked incredibly content. “Anytime.”  
Barry let out a breathy laugh and avoided Eddie's gaze, because honestly, this setting, this entire evening was too much of a teenage cliché, especially because he had gotten flustered so easily today because of Eddie; it happened all the time, but today it had just been more intense so that there had just been no way of Eddie not noticing.  
Barry looked up again when he noticed Eddie taking a step closer to him. _Oh, okay._ For the first time tonight, Eddie seemed unsure and even a little awkward. He took Barry's hand.  
“Listen... I really enjoyed spending time with you tonight. I–” He took a deep breath, and Barry's mind went blank, because Eddie had trouble saying something? This was unusual.  
“Alright, I, just, I really like you and – “  
He moved closer, his hand moving up Barry's body, to rest at the back of his neck eventually. Barry could feel his fingers lightly combing through his hair. He couldn't move, he couldn't believe this wasn't a dream. Maybe it was.  
Eddie's voice was barely more than a whisper. “I'd really like to kiss you.”  
Barry just stared at Eddie for a good couple of seconds, before realization hit him and he closed the last bit of distance between them. When their lips met, it was the sweetest feeling, so honest and raw and soft, it was careful and unsure, but also determined and hungry. Eddie's stubble was scratchy against Barry's skin, making him smile into the kiss and pull Eddie closer. They couldn't seem to be able to stop, but eventually had to, if it's only because they started getting a little out of breath. Barry immediately missed the contact.  
Eddie took a step back. Him and Barry were practically beaming at each other.  
He bit his lip. “So. This was nice. We need to repeat that, Allen.” He raised a hand to say goodbye and turned to leave.  
Barry laughed. “Which part? The going out or the kissing?”  
Eddie stopped in his movement and pretended to consider it for a moment. “Both.”


End file.
